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Case Reports
. 2017 Apr;145(5):857-863.
doi: 10.1017/S0950268816003198. Epub 2017 Jan 9.

Hospital-acquired listeriosis linked to a persistently contaminated milkshake machine

E Mazengia  1 , V Kawakami  2 , K Rietberg  2 , M Kay  2 , P Wyman  1 , C Skilton  1 , A Aberra  3 , J Boonyaratanakornkit  3 , A P Limaye  3 , S A Pergam  3 , E Whimbey  3 , R J Olsen-Scribner  3 , J S Duchin  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Hospital-acquired listeriosis linked to a persistently contaminated milkshake machine

E Mazengia et al. Epidemiol Infect. 2017 Apr.

Abstract

One case of hospital-acquired listeriosis was linked to milkshakes produced in a commercial-grade shake freezer machine. This machine was found to be contaminated with a strain of Listeria monocytogenes epidemiologically and molecularly linked to a contaminated pasteurized, dairy-based ice cream product at the same hospital a year earlier, despite repeated cleaning and sanitizing. Healthcare facilities should be aware of the potential for prolonged Listeria contamination of food service equipment. In addition, healthcare providers should consider counselling persons who have an increased risk for Listeria infections regarding foods that have caused Listeria infections. The prevalence of persistent Listeria contamination of commercial-grade milkshake machines in healthcare facilities and the risk associated with serving dairy-based ice cream products to hospitalized patients at increased risk for invasive L. monocytogenes infections should be further evaluated.

Keywords: Listeria; Hospital-acquired (nosocomial) infections; listeriosis; milkshake machine.

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Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Timeline of epidemiological, environmental and laboratory investigation of a hospital-acquired listeriosis linked to milkshakes produced in a persistently contaminated shake freezer machine. formula image, Machines A and B at hospital A; formula image, patient 3's milkshake consumption at hospital A; formula image, patient 3's hospitalization at hospital A.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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